Moments before midnight Monday, Congressional leaders reached an agreement on an end-of-year tax package that leaves out millions of poor people. In particular, despite a tenacious push by Speaker Pelosi and allies and a welcome demonstration of at least some bipartisan support, some children in poor families remain too poor to get help from the tax code. Advocates had hoped that Congress would expand the Child Tax Credit to cover families who are either too poor to qualify, or qualify for just a fraction of what other families receive. Also needing help were low-income workers without dependents, the only group whose tax payments can push them deeper into poverty.
Archives: Voices
CHN in the news: How the Trump Administration’s new food stamp restrictions will hurt people in deep poverty
This week, CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein appeared on both TV and radio to discuss the Trump Administration’s latest effort to cut SNAP benefits — this time, a rule that would take away benefits from as many as 688,000 Americans. Weinstein appeared on the nationally syndicated Leslie Marshall show, and she appeared on a shorter segment on Fox News.
Cutting food aid promotes hunger, not work
You may have heard about the Trump administration’s latest attack on very poor Americans: a punitive new restriction that will cut SNAP benefits for 688,000 people. Growing up, my family got food stamps — and oh, I hated it. I hated standing in line at the grocery store, knowing we’d be paying with coupons that would brand us as “poor” to anyone who noticed. And yet I loved the fact that we had food. As a growing kid, I knew what it was like to come home to a bare kitchen. Those dreaded vouchers meant we got cheese, milk, fruit, eggs, cereal, beans, tortillas, and yes, sometimes even ice cream. That food — and the stability that came with it — sent me on my way. Because I wasn’t hungry in school, I could pay attention. And I excelled.
Coming soon: WE COUNT!
A new resource aimed at making sure young children and hard-to-count populations are counted in the 2020 Census is about to be printed, and advocates hope it will help ensure an accurate tally. You may find it a useful part of your efforts to make sure young children are counted in the 2020 Census. WE COUNT! A 2020 Census Counting Book is an engagingly colorful, culturally sensitive 32-page book aimed at both young children and their parents. Its purpose is twofold: it is meant to be read aloud to young children to help them learn to count and, at the same time, it teaches adults to correctly count the members of their households on the 2020 Census form, despite their different living situations.
Alabama and the 2020 Census: ‘Whose child is missing?’
About one in four children in Alabama live in poverty, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. More than 17,000 young children in Alabama were not counted in the 2010 Census, which, measured by percentage, was much higher than the national average. About one in three households lacks access to the Internet. And the state is rural – very rural, explains Rhonda Mann, Deputy Director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, a group that is conducting groundbreaking work to make sure all kids are counted this time around.
CHN: Taking food away from very poor people does not promote work. It simply makes them hungrier.
Taking food away from very poor people does not promote work. It simply compounds their hardships. The Trump Administration today ignored the will of Congress, the judgment of states, more than 100,000 concerned comments, and its own estimate of the harmful impact on close to 700,000 people. It will time-limit food assistance to only three months every three years if people are unable to get steady part-time work.
The New York Council on Children and Families: How State Agencies Can Make Sure Kids Are Counted
How can we make sure that young children are accurately counted in the 2020 Census? One answer is rooted in the work of a small but effective state agency in upstate New York, which is working to ensure that state government plays its part. Among all 50 states, the New York Council on Children and Families is a leader in working with state agencies to promote the 2020 Census and make sure that all kids are counted. Its work could serve as a roadmap for other states to follow as they grapple with coordinating the work of state agencies, local and state nonprofits, and advocates who are working to get the word out about the Census.
Trump Administration Posts 57,000 Public Comments about Shrinking the Poverty Measure Online; Opposition is Overwhelming
More than 50,000 individuals or groups submitted comments via CHN’s website opposing a Trump Administration proposal to shrink the poverty line measure.
Ten Things We’re Thankful for This Thanksgiving
So many people under attack. People who need access to human needs programs just to survive. Immigrants. Workers. Consumers. LGBTQ people and people of color. And the assault on democratic institutions continues unabated. And yet: there are things that those of us in the human needs community can be thankful for as we prepare to observe another Thanksgiving holiday. Here are ten things that come to mind.
In Connecticut, advocates succeed in push for Census funding
When one examines Connecticut state leaders’ efforts to ensure that everyone is counted in the 2020 Census, the phrase “progress, not perfection” comes to mind. “Progress,” because state officials recently announced that $500,000 in state funds would be transferred from five different state agencies to promote the Census. “Not perfection,” because that still isn’t enough money. CT Voices for Children, an advocacy group that is organizing around the 2020 Census, has called for $3.57 million in funding — $1 dollar for each of the 3.57 million residents in the state.
Better than building Trump’s border wall: Five ideas for investing in America’s families
What if we diverted $4.74 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and deportation operations, and another $5 billion for President Trump’s proposed wall at the southern U.S. border, and used this money to invest in families instead? A new two-page research paper published by MomsRising and the National Priorities Project proposes doing just that, and offers up five examples of how this combined $9.74 billion could be invested.
Webinar: Service Providers and the 2020 Census — What You Need to Know. Register now.
Join CHN and our partners for a webinar at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 to learn what service providers need to know about the 2020 Census. Specifically we will share what’s at stake, what service providers need to be doing between now the Census, and where to get free/easy-to-use resources that can be used to achieve our goals. Hear from leaders of the national Count All Kids Campaign and the Census Counts Campaign as well as a local service provider about what works and what missteps to avoid.